RM December 7 - Phonecalls from school

I JUST received a semi-deranged phone message from the Young Wan during school time. Having missed the call I listened back to the message where she ranted at length without taking a breath about how unfair a teacher was being.

“It is just not fair. I didn’t finish my business homework, well it isn’t that I didn’t finish it, I couldn’t do it. I COULDN’T do it. And I wasn’t the only one. And it is only the second or third time I didn’t finish my homework this year. Hardly anyone in the class finished it. It is so unfair because she picked on me, nobody else. She is going to call you later. It is not fair. Can you call me at 1?”

Have we gathered how unfair it all apparently is? So I am to expect a phonecall from her teacher at some stage today. Great.

At one stage last year her emo-ness appeared to single her out on a range of misdemeanors that other kids got away with.

While some were certainly silly, childish nonsense, that we will laugh about in the future, they still needed appropriate punishments and others were just plain silly.

One incident involved a phonecall from the school while I was out driving with a boss in her car.

“I just wanted to let you know that the Young Wan was given out to earlier after another teacher heard her say she hated her.”

“What” I said, “why did that happen”.

It transpired the Young Wan was overheard speaking English to her pals in the playground at lunchtime and was told off about it by the teacher. Speaking English at anytime is a no no in a Gaelscoil.

As the teacher walked away the Young Wan was overheard muttering to her pals “I hate her”.
As I sat with my boss listening in complete disbelief at this most appalling crime of the year, I thought ‘have youse nothing better to do than make this phonecall?. They tried to claim that maybe she wanted to be heard, and I do know this, no she did not.

Those teachers need to get a thicker skin. While I am not condoning this rudeness at all I have to say I was overheard while in college by one of my lecturers saying the exact same thing and I was in my 20s.

One thing I have learned over the last year from my dealings with the school and other parents is that I am not a precious mother. I know all kids including my own are capable of being complete eejits.

But I resolved last year after one incident where the Young Wan was ‘implicated’ (how the principal described it) in the sending of rude text messages despite the fact she didn’t have a mobile phone at that time, that I would give her the benefit of the doubt, or at the very least a hearing on the alleged incident.

As it turned out the Young Wan was implicated after the sender and receiver of dirty text messages was asked who her friends were and the Young Wan’s name was mentioned. Implicated indeed!?! I learned from that to be persistent in asking questions. At that time it was all the principal would say and I won’t stand for that again. If they perceive her to be implicated in something, either tell me how or don't bother me.

So I have resolved that if I had anymore phonecalls from the school about behaviour or whatever, and this goes for other parents and anyone with a complaint, that I will say ‘thank you for that, I’ll have a chat with herself and get back to you’. After all if I am not sticking up for her – who will? So wish me luck with my forthcoming teacher phonecall.

EDIT: It turned out that I didn't get a phonecall at all, the teacher must have been having a bad day and as we all have some of those all is forgiven.

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